In 2010, the Legislature authorized the Farm Internship Pilot Program in Washington State. This first-of-its-kind program allows interns to work on small farms in select Washington counties. Farm interns learn about farming practices and gain hands-on experience with farming activities. Interns participating in this program are exempt from minimum wage requirements and are not required to be paid. Instead of a wage, farm interns receive education and experience about specific farming activities and are entitled to industrial insurance protections while participating in their internship.

2023 Legislation

There are new updates to the Farm Internship Program, written into the Industrial Welfare Act and the Minimum Wage Act, as a result of the passage of Substitute Senate Bill 5156 from the 2023 legislative session. The new changes include:

  • Expanded statewide: All 39 counties in Washington State are now eligible to participate in the Farm Internship Program.
  • Permanent: The Farm Internship Program is permanent and no longer has an expiration date.
  • New requirements for farms located in the 19 counties that became eligible to participate in the program:
    • If the farm employs more than one intern, the farm must employ at least one intern who has direct experience working as a migrant farmworker or whose parent or grandparent has direct experience working as a migrant farmworker.
    • If a farm is employing only one intern and the farm does not receive any other applications from individuals who meet the migrant farmworker criteria, then this requirement does not apply.
    • This applies to the following counties in Washington State: Adams, Asotin, Benton, Clallam, Columbia, Douglas, Ferry, Franklin, Garfield, Grays Harbor, Klickitat, Mason, Okanagan, Pacific, Pend Oreille, Skamania, Stevens, Wahkiakum, and Whitman.
  • Encouragement in education: The internship shall encourage interns to participate in career and technical education or other educational content with courses in agriculture or related programs of study.
For Farmers

Farms owners who are interested in participating in this program are encouraged to foster a supportive educational environment for participating interns and some best practices include providing a space for interns to develop and implement experimental techniques for cultivating and harvesting agricultural and horticultural crops.

Eligibility

Farms with annual sales of less than $265,000 per year are eligible to apply to participate in the program. The program has expanded statewide, making small farms located in all 39 counties eligible to participate.

The farm owners must participate in the everyday work and management of the farm and, ideally, farm owners will be working alongside the intern.

Farms must use an approved educational curriculum that teaches interns about farming practices and agricultural knowledge.

How to apply

  1. Fill out the Application for Farm Internship (F700-158-000).
  2. Provide a copy of an IRS Schedule F or similar IRS tax form stating the farm's gross sales of the business with your application.
  3. Attach the educational curriculum the farm will use to provide interns training to your application.
  4. Send the application packet both electronically to ESFarmInternship@Lni.wa.gov and physically to the mailing address below:

Washington State Department of Labor & Industries
ATTN: Cesar Sanchez - Farm Labor Unit
Employment Standards Program
519 Grant Road
East Wenatchee, WA 98802

Internship restrictions

  • Farms cannot displace an experienced worker with an intern.
  • Farm owners must demonstrate that the intern’s duties will compliment, not compete with or negatively affect existing workers on the farm.
  • The hiring of an intern cannot create unfair competition with other farms due to a labor cost advantage.
  • Farms cannot have more than three interns at a time.
  • Farms cannot have a history of serious violations of industrial insurance or Minimum Wage Act requirements.
  • For the additional 19 counties that became eligible to participate following the passage of SSB 5156 legislation:
    • If the farm employs more than one intern, the farm must employ at least one intern who has direct experience working as a migrant farmworker or whose parent or grandparent has direct experience working as a migrant farmworker.
    • If a farm is employing only one intern and the farm does not receive any other applications from individuals who meet the migrant farmworker criteria, then this requirement does not apply.
For Farm Interns

How to apply

It is up to each farm involved with the Farm Internship Program to advertise their internship opportunities. Internship opportunities can often be found at:

Educational opportunities

There are many educational opportunities for participating interns. As part of the program, farm owners provide valuable hands-on knowledge of farming and agricultural practices to pass down to a new generation. Interns are provided an approved curriculum from participating farms, giving them a structured education and the ability to put farming theories into practice. You can read some examples of educational resources here:

Wages, compensation, and benefits

Due to the educational nature of the Farm Internship Project, wages are not required for interns. However, participating farms offer other types of compensation, which may include:

  • A cash stipend – this is a fixed payment that can be paid daily, weekly, monthly, etc. but is not based on hours worked.
  • An hourly wage – farmers can choose to pay interns a wage for the hours they work, but minimum wage laws do not apply.
  • Room and board.
  • A share of the harvest.

These wages, stipends, and other benefits may be taxable as income. Interns should consult with a tax professional for additional information.

Although interns are not employees of the farm, they are protected through the workers’ compensation insurance program, if an accident were to happen.

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